Bed fence



Aprifi 29, 1952. R. T. HOFFMAN BED FENCE Filed Dec. 21, 1949 Patented Apr. 29, 195 2 T'E'FD STAT ES PATENT FF I C E BED FENCE Roy '1. Hoffman, Rave'na,.N. Y.

Application December 21, 1949, Serial No. 134,275

S CIaiins. 1

This invention relates to improvements in beds and, more particularly, to bed'fences for'beds to prevent infants or children, or even adults, from rolling on falling therefrom.

'I-Ieretofore, bed fences of this general type had to be'stored or placed onthe fioor or in some other inconvenient place. This often caused scratching of thepainted surfaces of the fence, and anaccumulation of lint or dust, or otherwise proved inconvenient when storing'such fences in some out-of-the-way place among othera'rticles. The principal object of the invention is to provide a device adapted to be secured to'theunder side of a bed whereby such fences can be stored and held in an upraised, out-of the-way position in connection with the bed, yet always being ready at hand forimmediate use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device cooperatively associated with the fence which is substantially concealed from view and in such a position that no projecting portion will interfere with or injure an occupant getting into or out of the bed when the device is not in use.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For afuller understandingof the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed. description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view, with parts broken away, of a preferred form of device embodying the invention showing a bed fence in upright position when in use and in dotted line position when not in use;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the slidably mounted projecting members for supporting an end of the fence;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of an end portion of the device with a section broken away in which the portion shown in Fig. 2 is slidably mounted;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a fragmentary end portion of the bottom of a fence with a locking member attached thereto;

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view illustrating the device on a smaller scale attached to a bed; and

Fig. 6 is a view of an eye-hook arrangement for holding the fence in vertical position.

Referring more particularly to the drawing,

2 there is shown generally at In a preferredtype of bed fence deviceconstituting a framework which'may comprise two elongated angle irons II and I2, connected at their ends preferably by channel irons I3 and I4.

Slidably mounted in the ends of the channels are shortpieces of angle iron I5 and I6. Only two of these are shown in the drawing but it will be understood that similar members maybe mounted in the opposite'ends of the channel l3 and I4. These short angle irons each'have an el'ongatedsl'ot I! and an opening I8 in one face thereof and a stop element'or pin I9 depending from the' other face thereof. 7

In the end of each channel member is a 'stop element'or pin and a slot or opening 2 I. Each short angle iron is adapted slidably to fit in the end ofa channel so "that the-pin 2B enters the opening I! and the pin I9 enters the slotted opening 2|. This provides a limited movement for each short angle iron so that it can be moved intoithech'annel' until it is at leastflush with the end thereof and outwardly a "sufficient distance 1110' provide a supportjfor'abarrier or fence 22. Each pin I9, whenlocated'in' its respective slot ZIywillaid in keeping theshort angle'irons in alignedlpositionand can be'used asa finger grip topul-l them' outwardly to' operative position. The fence has secured at each end along its bottom edge a slidable bolt or latch indicated generally at 23 which, when the fence is supported in position on the angle irons I'5' and'IB, can: be moved interl'ockingly to engage the openings lflineach angleiron. o j Theabovedescribedframework;namely; angle irons II and I2, andchannelirons I3 and I4 can readily be secured underneath the bed by attaching the angle irons II and I2 to opposite side rails 24 and 25 thereof and passing wood screws 26 through openings in the angle irons and into the side rails 24 and 25 of the bed. Where the side rails of the bed are made of metal, suitable stove bolts or machine screws can be used. The channel irons I3 and I4 are connected to the angle iron II at points 21 and 28 by any uitable means and are connected at their oppoite ends to the angle iron I2 by similar means notshown in the drawing). It will be understood that when reference is made to a framework, it does not necessarily include the angle irons II and I2 since it is obvious that other means can be utilized to suspend the channels I I3 and I4; or the channels may be directly connected to the bottom of the side rails 24 and 25 3 of the bed in any suitable manner. Furthermore, it is to be understood that while the framework is illustrated and described as being made of angle irons and channel irons, the same can be made of aluminum or any other suitable material. Also, conventional channel or angle irons need not be utilized provided that an equivalent structure having a supporting ledge is used to practice the invention.

When the fence is mounted in position as shown in the drawing, it is held upright when in use by any suitable holding means, for example, a hook and eye attachment indicated generally at 29. When it is desired to remove the bed fence,

it is only necessary to disengage the hook 29, withdraw each sliding bolt 23 from the openings [8 in the supporting angle irons l5 and 16, move the fence to a horizontal position and push it horizontally between the channels l3 and M to an out-of-the-way position as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, at 22. On wide beds, a stop member 30 in each channel can be employed to prevent the fence from being pushed too far into the channels. Thereafter, the short angle irons I5 and I6 are also pushed inwardly into the channel irons l3 and I 4 to the limit of their stop members until they are at least flush with the ends of the channels. 7

In the drawing, only one fence has been shown although it will be understood that a fence at the opposite end of the framework can be used particularly when the bed is moved away from a wall. Where the bed is against the wall, it is obvious that only one fence is necessary.

The device, besides being readily adapted to infants and. childrens beds, can be applied to twin size, full size or three-quarter size beds. A suitable height for the fence for any of these beds is to 24 inches and of a length approximating about 40 inches.

It will thus be seen that the objects hereinbefore set forth may readily and efficiently be attained and since certain changes may be made in the above construction and different embodiments of the invention could be made Without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A bed fence device adapted to be attached to a bed to prevent an occupant from falling therefrom, which comprises a fence structure, a frame structure adapted to be secured to the under side of said bed and adapted to receive and hold a fence in horizontal, stored position, fencesupporting members slidably mounted in the ends of said frame'structure and detachably secured to the bottom of said fence when the latter is held in upright position, and means to secure said fence in upright position.

2. A device of the character defined in claim 1, and further characterized in that said frame structure comprises a pair of spaced-apart channel irons.

3. A device of the character described in claim 1, and further characterized in that said fencesupporting members comprise a pair of angle irons. 4

4. A device of the character described in claim 1, and further characterized in that said frame structure comprises a pair of channel irons, said channel irons each having a limit stop member and a slotted portion; and in which said fencesupporting members each comprise angle irons, said angle irons also each being provided with a limit stop member and a slotted portion, said limit stops of each angle iron being engageable with the slotted portions of said channel irons, and said limit stops of said channel irons being engageable with the slotted portions of said angle irons.

5. A device of the character defined in claim 1, and further characterized in that said means comprise latching members engageable and disengageable with said fence-supporting members.

ROY T. HOFFMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Mar. 3, 1932 

